Through the power of Bit Torrent I was able to see the entire run of After War Gundam X, the only Gundam series besides the original that was cancelled early. It is also the only alternate universe show that deals with Newtypes directly.

Starting with a very promising back story, nearly the entire human population of Earth wiped out in a mass colony drop. The survivors have formed independent nations and Vultures roam the land finding and selling technology to these nations. Ultimately the birth of a new Federation and the Space Revolution Army pushes things forward, but that happens way too late in the series run.

Our hero is Garrod Ran, a 15 year old scavenger who comes to protect Tiffa Adil aboard the Freiden captained by former Federation Newtype pilot Jamil Neate. The early episodes, in fact nearly half the story run, concerns Jamil's quest to rescue and protect Newtyps from abuse at the hands of those with power, and really only one story arc forms from this.

The main plotline is the formation of the New Federation and their continued battle against the Space Revolution Army. The first bit is the New Federation waging war against the nations of Earth to unify them all under the same name. The Freiden does its best to protect one nation, but the politics involved in war are too much for the 4 Gundams to overcome. The battle moves to space and the creator's feelings towards the Newtype phenomenon are laid out. Newtypes are not infallible and not the next step on man's evolution. They are simply what they are, freaks.

The good parts of the series are the rich background. So much potential and depth that could be explored, but languished in the background. The Gundam designs were sleek and modern. The bad guys, Shagia and Olba Frost are incredibly cold blooded and evil, they might be the best pure villains in any of the Gundam series.

The bad thing is what killed the series. It was slow. Gundam fans love long deep story arcs. This series took over 20 episodes to get there, even for the typical slow starting Gundam shows, this is a long time. The other major issue was the immaturity of the characters. Every main character had a love interest, yet no one ever made a move. Love is a central theme of Gundam and for it to be so poorly used in this series was a disappointment.

I enjoyed the show, mostly once it got going. It took me some time to get through the opening episodes. Once it got going however I was hooked. The politics and philosophical issues the show brought up were on par with any Gundam series. Overall I give it a 6 out of 10.

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